Not quite like grilling

Review by Shadoglare

November, 11 2003

Pros: Helps reduce fat in cooking

Cons: Cheaply made, doesn't really "grill," smokes a LOT.

Living in an apartment, I'm often wishing I had a way to grill but don't have the option of a standard outdoor grill - so when I saw these "smokeless indoor grills" going for $6 or so on Ebay, I figured I'd try it out.

The term "smokeless grill" is rather misleading, as it isn't really a grill in the "outdoor grill" sense of the word, and it certainly isn't smokeless.

Frankly, it's more like frying with a drip pan. There are no metal bars that sear the meat, and the small indentations in the cooking surface don't do much except help direct the grease drippings.

To use the Grill, you fill the ring-shaped base with water, which the circular-shaped cooking surface then sits upon. This assembly is then centered over your stove's burner, which then heats the cooking surface.

The cooking surface is slightly curved, and has holes along the edges that allow grease to flow off into the drip pan. This does work pretty well in that respect - if you're looking to reduce the amount of grease in your food, the Chefmaster grill does cause a lot of the grease to drip off.

The water is probably supposed to make the Grill "smokeless," but it certainly doesn't do a very good job. Anything (especially grease) that is cooking on the main surface still smokes, and smokes a LOT. In fact I probably get less smoke when I'm just simply pan frying.

The non-stick surface apparantly doesn't stick to food OR the pan, as I found out quickly that using a scouring pad quickly rubs off the electron-thick non-stick substance.

Overall, if you're looking for something indoors to take the place of your outdoor grill, this isn't it. However, if you're looking to cut down on the grease in your food, and don't want to spend the money on something like Foreman, this might do the job.